Shankar Mahadevan: Music Industry Is Like Fashion

Trends Come And Go, But Only A Good Song Has The Power To Sustain All The Undercurrents Of The Music Industry And Make The Right Noise, Says Singer-Composer Shankar Mahadevan

Trends come and go, but only a good song has the power to sustain all the undercurrents of the music industry and make the right noise, says singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan. He drew a similarity between the music and fashion industries. “Music industry is like fashion. Things keep coming, things keep going, trends keep changing. There is good music, bad music and mediocre music. Everything co-exists but at the end of the day it is a good song which wins,” Mahadevan told IANS in a recorded response.

Mahadevan, who scored new heights in the musical world with the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trio, agrees that music trends are cyclical. Asked what trend he thinks will be making a comeback in the time to come, the composer said: “I think melody is a trend which is coming back and we are doing a lot of melody this year.” Starting his career as a software programmer, Mahadevan eventually drifted away from the profession, and found his passion to create sounds and rhythms.

With tracks like “Maa”, “Dil chahta hai”, “Kal ho naa ho”, “Desi Girl”, “Kajra re” and “Uff teri adaa”, Mahadevan along with his partners from the trio made a place for himself in the music industry. His sons Siddharth and Soumil are following his footsteps and entering the industry. Mahadevan, who also teaches music through his online academy, is seen judging reality TV shows and radio shows. At the moment, he is busy with live voting-led singing TV show “Rising Star 2”, which is aired on Colors channel.

The music composer feels reality TV shows are one the best “platforms for young talent”. “Because you are on national TV, you are being watched by the entire country and they know your first name, which is the highest form of popularity. If you are able to come on a reality show that is success forget about winning the show. If they win the show then it is a brownie point.”

But what happens to the contestants once the show gets over? Are they able to survive in the industry or do they just enjoy few minutes of fame and then get back to their life? “All the contestants make a mark for themselves. Not all of them become number one playback singers, but each one of them is performing, travelling, earning his bread and taking care of the family and doing something which they love doing and making a living out of it.”

On “Rising Star 2”, he said: “This is a great national platform where crores of people are listening to you. The fact that youngsters aspire to come on the stage even if you are being selected among top ten, then it itself is a great dream. “The fact that the contestants don’t have age bars, caste bar, people of varied sizes and musical genre are part of this show really inspire the youth of the country. By looking at these stories, you will get inspired. “And these stories not only inspire musicians but also people from various fields like sports, painters. It is inspiring people to give their dreams a shape.”